Key-carrying device



June 22, 1943- w. 1. JONES I KEY-CARRYING DEVICE Original Filed Oct. 29, 1941 Iii/29821200; kgerl. Jone 6y If,

Patented June 22, 1943 2,322,645 KEY-CARRYING DEVICE Walter 1. Jones, Belmont, Mass, assignor to United-Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Original application October 29, 1941, Serial No.

416,985. Divided and this application September 24, 1942, Serial No. 459,511

3 Claims.

My invention aims to provide improvements in quick removable key-carrying devices, such as are commonly called key cases and which include an outer casing of leather or the like within which is located one or more elements for carrying lock keys and any other suitable devices.

This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 416,985, filed October 29, 1941.

In the drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a conventional key case with a portion thereof broken away to show the key-supporting means in ele vation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing a portion of the supporting plate, a section of one of the key-holder supporting members and a keyholder squeezed to a position for assembly with or disassembly from the key-holder supporting member; I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of my improved key-holder in normal position;

Fig. 4 is an edge view of the key-holder shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the blank (with a portion broken away) from which the key-holder is formed;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section taken on the line I5--6 of Fig. 1 showing the relation of the parts when assembled;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective View of the key-holder supporting member per se; and I Fig. 8 is a plan view of the blank from which the key-holder supporting member is made.

My invention relates to improvements in that type of key container device which is so construeted that the key-holder together with any key, keys or other devices carried thereby may be removed from the part that supports the keyholder. Applicant is aware of the fact that such devices are not broadly new and, as a matter of fact, his present invention is an improvement over that shown and described in his co-pending application Serial No. 328,728, filed April 9, 1940.

Referring to the specific form of my invention, I have shown a standard type of key case cover I of the folded over flap construction held together by a snap fastener 2 of any suitable construction. The case I may be of leather, cloth or any suitable material. Within the case and preferably at the upper portion thereof I have attached a plate member 3 as by means of rivets 4 substantially as indicated in Fig. 1. This plate member 3 may be provided with any number of apertures 5 preferably surrounded by slight bosses 5, these bosses extending toward the'front face of the plate, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

As in my co-pending application referred to above, I have assembled with the plate 3 one or more key holder supporting members 8 which extend through the apertures 5 and which swivel therein. To these swivel members I have attached key-carrying members 9 by detachable means forming part of the key-carrying members so that they may bereadily engaged with and disengaged from the swivel members, as will be described in greater detail. Therefore, the broad combination of elements covered by the present application is the same as in my cQ-pending application referred to above, but in the present instance the details of construction of some of the parts have been found to provide an improved construction.

The key holder supporting member 8, illustrated in my present application, is formed from astrip-like blank, as indicated in Fig. 8, and has a mid portion I0 which, when the blank is formed, provides a loop IE3, as indicated in Fig. 7. The blank also has foot portions HI! at opposite ends which, when folded into the proper relation, form a base I l as also indicated in Fig. 7. Thus, the base I I is of substantially rectangular shape and is connected to the loop IIl by a small neck and the base presents an area. of such dimensions that it cannot be pulled or twisted through an aperture 5 in the plate 3 when assembled therewith while the neck may swivel in any part of the aperture 5. It will be noted that I have shown elliptical-shaped apertures 5 in the plate 3 which also aid in preventing the feet of the base II from pulling or twisting through the apertures 5. With the construction shown in my co-pending application it has been found that in some instances the baseportion of the supportingmember for the key-carrying member could be worked through the round aperture in the plate due to the construction of the base of the swivel and the round aperture in the plate.

The key-carrying member illustrated in my present application is the same as illustrated and described in my co-pendin'g application except that the hook portions, which engage with the loop Ill of the swivel, are constructed and arranged in a slightly different manner. The key holders 9 are provided with key-carrying loops I2 and their ends are formed to provide hooks I3 and I I. The hook I3 is forked, except that the extreme end is tied together by a crossbar I5 (Figs, 4, 5 and 5) while the hook I4 is in the form of a single tongue-like member which may enter the slot 16 formed in the hook 13. The hook It may be curved around so as to leave only suiiicient space to permit it to enter into the loop le while the hook I3 cannot be curved around quite so far due to the connected end l5.

This connected end serves a very important function inasmuch as it prevents the loop Ill from working out from between the prongs of the hook l3, as has been found possible With my previous construction. It has been found from experience that when a complete fork is formed on the hook l3 constant shaking of the parts of the device will, in some instances, so work the parts relative to each other that a loop wedges in between one of the forked portions of the hook l3 and the hook l4. Thereafter, it may gradually work its way out from between the hooks and the key-carrying member and keys fall from engagement with the swivel member. It is to overcome this possibility that I have provided the connected end portion IE on the hook l3 thereby to prevent any such accidental disengagement of one part from. the other.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated the strip from which the key-carrying member is formed into a device shaped as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

To assemble the parts of my device the operations are substantially the sameas more fully described in my co-pending application and, therefore, I will now only briefly state that it is merely necessary to enter the loop I0 into the aperture 5 in the plate 3 with the loop I 0 positioned the long way of the aperture.

Since the diameter of the loop is slightly more than the 4 length of the aperture 5, it is necessary to press one of the parts relative to the other to assemble them. Thus, by a mere snapping action these parts may be easily and quickly assembled. The

key-carrying members may be easily and quickly assembled with the key-carrying loops of the supportingmeans or swivel, by merely squeezing the loop portions 12, as indicated in Fig.2, thus causing the hook portions to spread away from each other and permit them to be entered into the loop lll as clearly shown in Fig. 2.. As the pressure is released from the loop portion l2 the hook portions will resume their normal positions and they will be securely attached to the swivels, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Assembly of a key or keys with the key-carrying member 9 is accomplished in exactly the same manner as more fully described in my copending application, and it is only necessary to tion I2 between the fingers of one hand and pulling the key with the fingers of the other hand directly away from the loop thereby causing the key portions to spread and become disengaged from the key.

My improved construction is particularly desirable because it overcomes any possibility of accidental disassembly of any parts of the device. Even though the improvements may appear to be slight, they, nevertheless, are particularly important as has been found from actual use and they are of such scope as to warrant the filing of this application in anticipation of further protection to 'cover the inventive scope of the additional features.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereby because the scope of my invention is best defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a key-carrying device, a supporting plate, a key-holder supporting member and a key-carrying member, said key-holder supporting member having a divided base portion and a loop portion and said supporting plate having an opening therein through which said loop portion extends, and said opening being elongated and relatively narrow to prevent the divided base from working through the said opening.

2. In a key-carrying device, a supporting plate, a. key-holder supporting member and a key-carrying member, said key-holder supporting member having a divided base portion and a loop portion and said supporting plate having an opening therein through which said loop portion extends, said opening being elongated and. relatively narrow to prevent the divided base from working through the said opening, said loop portion of the key-holder supporting member being relatively narrow in one direction while being of great enough distance across in the opposite direction to force it to be snapped through said aperturewhen being assembled with said sup porting plate.

3. In a key-carrying device, a supporting plate, 7

a key-holder supporting member and a key-carrying member, said key-holder supporting member having a narrow expansible and contractible loop portion and a base, and said supporting plate having an elliptical-shaped aperture therethrough of a size compared to the loop so that the loop must be snapped through the aperture and of a size compared with the base to prevent passage of the base in any position and a relatively small neck connecting the loop portion and base permitting the key-holder supporting member to swivel freely relative to the supporting plate.

WALTER I. JONES. 

